The present invention relates to oxidative dehydrogenation catalysts containing lithium iron and oxygen and the process of oxidative dehydrogenation using these catalysts. More particularly, the catalysts are ferrites.
Oxidative dehydrogenations employing ferrite catalysts are well known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,270,080; 3,284,536; 3,303,234; 3,303,235; 3,303,236; 3,303,238; 3,308,182; 3,324,195; 3,334,152; 3,342,890; 3,398,100; 3,450;787; 3,420,911; 3,420,912; 3,428,703 and 3,440,299 disclose such processes.
Some prophetic disclosures concerning ferrites tended to regard lithium equivalent to a number of other metals in forming ferrites useful for oxidative dehydrogenation, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,666,684; 3,670,042; 3,686,347; 3,702,875; 3,743,683; 3,751,512; 3,780,126 and 3,843,745, which all contain substantially the same disclosure in regard to lithium.
In the present application which deals specifically with the lithium ferrite species critical perimeters and combinations have been discovered, which were not considered, investigated, noted, or suggested by the prior art.